The present invention relates generally to armored land vehicles such as tanks and the like, and more particularly to portions of ammunition storage magazines for such tanks. The tanks or armored land vehicles may be of the type armed with rockets or missiles and including launching means for such armament. More specifically, the invention is directed to a driving mechanism for the covers of the ammunition storage magazines of the armored land vehicle whereby loading of a rocket launcher from the magazine, and charging of the magazine itself may be facilitated by enabling appropriate positioning of the cover thereof.
The invention concerns a driving mechanism for the cover of the magazine of an armored land vehicle which is particularly suited to receive jet powered rockets or missiles which are launched either without a launching tube or from a launching tube of a launching device which is vertically controllable as to height and which may be automatically moved by means of a conveyor device under the influence of a followup control from the magazine to the launching device and be locked with the latter.
In prior art magazines of this type, for example, magazines which are disclosed in German utility Pat. (Gebrauchsmuster) No. 6,608,819, the magazine cover must be opened by movement through an angle of 90.degree. in order to obtain, on the one hand, rapid opening of the magazine to enable high firing rates, and on the other hand, to provide for utilization of gear parts which are sufficiently rugged for battlefield operation and as small and maintenance-free as possible. A further consideration in devices of this type is the fact that space in armored land vehicles is extremely limited so that the drive mechanisms which are utilized must be as compact as possible in order to enable sufficient space utilization.
Rotation of the magazine cover through an angle of 90.degree. into a vertical position to open the magazine is usually adequate to enable the respective launching devices to be armed with ammunition from the magazines, but it presents a considerable obstacle when it is necessary to recharge the magazines with ammunition. With the cover in a vertical position, the ammunition must be lifted to a higher elevation in order to be brought over the height of the cover and into the magazine itself. This is difficult to achieve in the battlefield, particularly when no lifting gears are utilized. Furthermore, the vertical position of the cover blocks the view into the magazine so that the introduction of individual missiles into their respective receptacles becomes more difficult. Additionally, the vertically oriented cover presents an obstacle which can be a serious cause of injury.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed toward the provision of a driving mechanism for the cover of an ammunition magazine of the aforementioned type which permits movement of the magazine through an angle of 90.degree. into a vertical opened position for loading the launching device with ammunition from the magazine while also enabling movement of the cover through 180.degree. into a horizontal position substantially flush with the magazine opening when charging of the magazine with missiles is to be effected. Furthermore, the invention provides a mechanism whereby the magazine parts may be maintained safely in a position within the magazine during travel of the vehicle over terrain.